This disclosure relates to an adapter for a tailpiece for a dental instrument and more particularly to an adapter for a tailpiece used in conjunction with a dental valve device for a high volume evacuator or a low volume evacuator (saliva ejector).
During a dental procedure it is important to be able to remove saliva, blood, tooth fragments, metals, and other debris from the mouth of a patient. Removal of this matter allows a dentist to be able to perform a procedure in an unobstructed manner. Various systems or devices have been developed to remove liquid and solid materials from a mouth during a dental procedure. One device that is capable of removing saliva is known as a saliva ejector. A saliva ejector typically comprises a plastic flexible tube or tip for placement in the mouth of a patient. The saliva ejector tip is connected to a valve and the valve is connected to a hose or to a tailpiece that is connected to the hose. The hose is connected to a source of vacuum. In this manner, saliva is passed through the ejector tip, the valve, the tailpiece, and the hose to be disposed of in a sanitary manner. Once the procedure is completed, the ejector tip should be discarded and the valve should be replaced. The used valve should also be sterilized by autoclaving to be used again. Although it is suggested to autoclave the valve after use, it is known that autoclaving is hardly ever done. Another device that is capable of removing solid materials is a high volume evacuator system. A high volume evacuator system generally consists of a tube or tip that may be inserted into a mouth of a patient with the tube connected to a valve which is connected to a tailpiece with the tailpiece being connected to a hose or tubing that is in fluid communication with a source of vacuum. Again, in this manner, debris may be removed from the mouth of the patient. After the dental procedure, the tip is disposed of and the valve should be replaced. The used valve should also be sterilized by autoclaving to be used again. However, although it is suggested to sterilize the valve after use, it is known that this suggested procedure is hardly ever followed. As can be appreciated, the saliva ejector and the high volume evacuator are used to remove liquids and debris from a mouth of a patient to prevent a patient from swallowing or aspirating liquids and debris produced during a dental procedure.
As indicated, the saliva ejector dental valve or the high volume evacuator dental valve is connected to the suction hose by use of a tailpiece. Each of the valves has an end that is mated to the tailpiece. The ends are of various sizes and shapes and are not uniform or universal. In order to connect the end of the valve to a tailpiece, a specifically sized and shaped tailpiece is required to be used. As can be appreciated, a dental procedure may require various dental valves. After a dental procedure if the valves are to be cleaned then a technician must keep track of what tailpiece is in place and what specific valve needs to be inserted onto the tailpiece. This will require the inventory of various valves and tailpieces.
Although these tailpieces and dental valves are beneficial, one disadvantage associated with their use is that there is no standardization available for the tailpieces and the dental valves. For example, one manufacturer may produce a dental valve that has a tailpiece receiving end of one configuration and another manufacturer may produce a dental valve having a tailpiece receiving end of different dimensions or a different configuration. Mating these different valves to a tailpiece may be difficult, if not impossible. Another problem associated with the use of different tailpieces and dental valves is that a technician will be required to keep track of the various tailpieces and dental valves that are used and stored. If an error occurs in the use or storage of such devices then a dental station may not be able to be used for a dental procedure. For example, if a dental office runs out of clean dental valves of a certain size and shape that will fit onto a specific tailpiece then a saliva ejector may not be available for a dental procedure. If this were to occur then a scheduled dental procedure would have to be canceled. Further, in a single station dental practice, it may be necessary to cancel many appointments. Also, in a very busy dental practice, having one station out of commission for a period time may also require that several appointments will have to be canceled and rescheduled. As can be appreciated, this will result in lost revenue for the dental practice and should be avoided. Also, if there is a dental emergency then the dentist may not be able to provide emergency services.
Another problem that may occur is that during a dental procedure a dental valve may fail and may need to be replaced. If this were to happen then a technician would be required to replace the defective dental valve with a dental valve of the same size and shape. If a mismatched dental valve was selected then the technician would have to find a suitable replacement dental valve. As can be appreciated, this could delay the dental procedure and at worst cancel the dental procedure if an appropriate replacement could not be found. Any of these situations should be avoided especially when a dental procedure is in progress.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an adapter for a tailpiece for a dental valve that is used to connect or mate a dental valve to a tailpiece that is connected to a hose that is connected to a source of vacuum. It would also be desirable to have an adapter for a tailpiece that is universal and may be used to connect any sized dental valve to a tailpiece. It would also be advantageous to have an adapter for a tailpiece for a dental valve that is disposable for a single use to prevent contamination.